Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-01-01
RARE OPPORTUNITIES.
BREAKING UP OF ONE OF THE
LARGE LAND HOLDINGS.
A Choice Body OF Land Near Thif
City offered for Sale "a Fine.
Chance for Colony.

grafton from the Eas'.; desire to build up
our State IN weai' a end property, by ad-
ditions OF pemaaent settlers, men who
come anon us 70 buy homes, till our soil,
TO becom & social and political factors Of oest
comr entity. This hes been accomplished.
" 18th eminent success in several portions OF
She State. There LAS been one drawback
10 this section, which has done more TIC re-
tard progress IA that direction than all
Others, and that is the fact that large
Spanish grants were held by men of
wealth, who did not care to ealtivate
the soil, and had no desire to cut
up their princely estates, or rent
them te small farmers. South OF
the American river, from the city
of Sacramento TO Folsom, extending from
the Sacramento river on the vest to the
foothills on the easl, and TIE Costumes
river on the south, IS embraced over one
half of the area of Sacramento county, all
of hich is under cultivation,
MOSTLY s5iAI4sFERMs,
Aad supports large and prosperous
population. This land ranges IN price
from S75 to 500 per acre, and where or
echards are set out could not be purchased
for twice the Lister amount. The Ameri-
can is a small stream, has but little fall in
the last twenty miles of its course, and the
light alluviGl soil Tat appears on the
south is the same in every respect to that
on the nortA.
While tie land on the south is owned
by hundreds OF farmers, an equal area on
the north IS owned by two individuals,
who do but little farming, and until
recently the San uan Rancho of 2o,00e
acres was only used as grazing land for
horses, cattle anc. sheep. Valleys rich in
bottom land and deep loan soil still re
main undisturbed by the pillow, the forests
of majestic oaks until quite recently were
untouched by the woodman's ak, were
intact and maintained their p1irneval
beauty in the same condition as when
Fremont caErped in them in 1916. a few
years ago John T. Cardwell purchased
400 acresof this grant. He had the
forests Of oak cut of, the smaller trees
and underbTush cleared,
ALL OF IT FENCED
And prepared for cultivation, ard now
II.
Hearing Of ms intention an innovation on
the "dog in a manger policy of
large land holders, some gentlemen
of this city, interested in immigration, Wis
tied the premises and were accompanied
by . representative of this paper. We
took buggy teams, and drove out. across the
Tweiftil-street bridge over the american
river We were then upon the Rancho
Del Paso, or Norris Grant, the property of
the millionaire j. 3. Haggin which con-
tains $4,000 acres. This grant embraces
as good land as there IS in the county, is
capable Of supporting population of 1000
tiileTs of the soil, yet it is devoted to sheen
and other live stock. A few herders and
hGTse-trainers are all that is employed
The grant, taking into consideration the
uses to which ii is devoted, is & positive
injury to this section of the State, and
as much a detriment to this. city as
though it was desert waste, unproductive
and unfit for the habitation of man.
We drove for ten miles in northeast
erly direction over this grant, seeing no
division fences and no habitations except
an occasional sheepherdeTs hut, save the
Superintendent house. This is
MoDEsT-APPEARING MANSION.
Surrounded by a number of large
barns. 4 mile race-track, inclosed and
improved, surrounded by white
fence, indicated what was the chief sport
Of this millionaire prince, and to what pur-
pose this princely estate was devoted
Here, we were informed, vas the greatest
stable Of race-horses ever known. Here it
is+hat the colts were raised that won the
chief turf prizes last season from San Fran
cisco to Saratoga. Here is man who has
more money invested in blo0ded horses
than any other in the world, who has
made purchases OF the best equine blood
in America, Europe and Australia He
does not till the soil. He knows nothing
about it, and cares less. He wants plenty
of room for his live stock. and the grant
will likely remain in Its present unused
condition until the end of his racing or
his own career. At the end of eleven
miles we come to the east line Of the grant
and passing out We Immediately note an
Improvement, for we behold fenced, plowed
fields, frequent farm-houses, good out build
ings, men at work in the fields and orch
ards, housewives busy with their domestic
duties, children going to and from the
public schools, and the healthy, thrifty
look of all is indicative Of the
PROSPERITY OF THE SMALL FARMER.
By the route we travelled We came
TO ]. 7. Cardwell's land in seven
teen miles. The southeastern cor
ner of the property is about quarter of
mile south of the town Of Folsom, on the
north bank of the American river. It ex-
tends west two and one-third miles, and
north three miles, forming an oblong
square, containing something over 400
acres.
We found the land all under fence. and
5000 acres of it cleared, the balance used
as pasture The land is not entirely level
still there is not an elevation on the place
that is twenty feet above the general level.
The land might be termed slightly rolling
In some places, yet 1t is all well drained
there not being single place on the en-
tire premises where water accumulates
after heavy rains. The soil is light, sandy,
alluvial, deep, and turns up nicely the first
blowing. Some two Thousand acres were
in wheat last year, and grew to an average
hight of five and a half feet
MR.. cARDwELL Is a MODEL. FARMER.
Whatever he does, he does well. The
first two requisites to a good farm
EO0A 4SACSo anu HpOu IO1QS.
These are superior to those of any
other section of the country, and no better
is found anywhere He has laid his fields
off in $40 and 640-acre tracts, with broad
roads on all the section lines. His wheat
fields are fenced in the following manner
Five Oregon pine fence boards securely
nailed to seyen-foot redwood posts, sur
mounted by barb wire They are hog
proof, and will stand for many
years. His pasture land, which, by
the way, is frst-class fruit and grain
land when cleared, is fenced in
the following manner Seven-toot red
wood posts, with FIVE barbed wires; about
four and half feet from the ground is a
2x4 scantling, which is mortified into the
posts, which gives it great strength and
keeps the stock from running against the
barbs and injuring themselves. This soil
is capable of producing any kind Of crop.
For fruit trees and vines
IT CANNOT BE ExcELIED.